Friday, April 16, 2010

A book review in today's Wall Street Journal confirms what parents of toddlers already know: humans often fare better if presented with fewer options, not more. In "Art of Choosing" Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar discusses research that suggests arranged marriages are, ironically, often more loving than love marriages; children play more enthusiastically when forced to choose only one toy from an array of many; and--here's where it gets interesting for marketing types--the more varieties of a product there are on the shelf, the less apt shoppers are to commit to a decision to buy it. Better pull the plug on those line extensions.

8 comments:

Solid post - Concise and to the point. A lot of companies forget this the bigger they get and feel as if they need to broaden their product lines to expand. When in fact, studies show that while this increases the revenue for the business - Its profit margin barely move.

I can just imagine what Lets Make a Deal would of been like with more choices. You can choose behind Curtains 1 or 2, under the Box, in the other room, whats in the envelope, or what is hidden under my hat.

I think this every time I go to the grocery, a trip I dread. The hunt for what I need fatigues me. Seriously. I mourn the lack of a small grocer with just the basics and a butcher behind the counter who'll wrap my choices in white paper. I really do.

Good to hear there's research about this very thing because I totally believe it.

@California Girl Sadly, don't think all the research in the world will bring back Butcher, Grocer and Candlestick Maker. I miss them too! And paper packages tied up with string (one of my favorite things) made me feel like I was toting prezzies instead of groceries.